Research Interests
- neuroanatomical plasticity, hormones, development, cognition
Research Description
My students and I examine hormonal influences on neuronal structure. The emphasis is on cognitive parts of the rat brain, such as the cerebral cortex, corpus callosum and hippocampus, and on cognitive behavior. Our current projects include the neural and behavioral changes during adolescence and puberty and the effects of endocrine disruptors (eg, BPA) during early development and during adolescence.
I am not accepting more students because I will be retiring in the summer of 2024.
Education
- Ph.D. from the University of Colorado
- M.A. University of Illinois
- B.A. Lawrence University
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor Emerita, Psychology
Recent Publications
Brinks, A. S., Carrica, L. K., Tagler, D. J., Gulley, J. M., & Juraska, J. M. (2025). Timing of Methamphetamine Exposure during Adolescence Differentially Influences Parvalbumin and Perineuronal Net Immunoreactivity in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex of Female, but Not Male, Rats. Developmental Neuroscience, 47(1), 27-39. https://doi.org/10.1159/000538608
Juraska, J. M. (2024). The last stage of development: The restructuring and plasticity of the cortex during adolescence especially at puberty. Developmental psychobiology, 66(2), Article e22468. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22468
Riesgo, V. R., Sellinger, E. P., Brinks, A. S., Juraska, J. M., & Willing, J. (2024). Effects of maternal LPS and developmental exposure to an environmentally relevant phthalate mixture on neuron number in the rat medial prefrontal cortex. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 104, Article 107370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2024.107370
Drzewiecki, C. M., Brinks, A. S., Sellinger, E. P., Doshi, A. D., Koh, J. Y., & Juraska, J. M. (2023). Brief postnatal exposure to bisphenol A affects apoptosis and gene expression in the medial prefrontal cortex and social behavior in rats with sex specificity. NeuroToxicology, 94, 126-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2022.11.011
Sellinger, E. P., Brinks, A. S., Javeri, R. R., Theurer, S. L., Wang, R., & Juraska, J. M. (2023). Region- and age-specific effects of perinatal phthalate exposure on developmental cell death and adult anatomy of dorsal and ventral hippocampus and associated cognitive behaviors. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 99, Article 107288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2023.107288